Ticket holding apparatus



Dec. 1, 1959 R. w. WOLKE 2,915,178

' TICKET HOLDING APPARATUS Filed March 10. 1953 lul ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention relates to a ticket holding apparatus designed for use in storing and dispensing space reservation tickets for issuance by railroads and other passenger transport concerns giving to their passengers, for a stipulated consideration, the right to travel in reserved spaces in a railroad car or other vehicle between-travel points.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for holding large numbers of tickets of several different kinds,-"that is, corresponding to different space reservations, respectively, maintained separated having sign devices mounted thereon indicating the kind of tickets contained adjacent the separator and which sign devices are liftable, pivoted, or bendable to allow ready access to the tickets.

A further object of this invention is to provide containers of the above type which can be used together on a fiat surface and are provided with means for maintaining a fixed minimum spacing between the containers proper.

In the accompanying drawing exemplificately showing certain means for carrying my invention into practical effect,

Fig. 1 is a front end elevation, partly in longitudinal section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2, of a ticket holding and dispensing apparatus and tickets stacked therein in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a detail fragmentary section through one of the containers, showing one of the dividers and an associated indicating arm.

The ticket containers C, of which seven in number are shown in the present instance, may be of any suitable form, but are herein shown as narrow, elongated, drawerlike receptacles having each a bottom wall, shallow side walls and front and rear end walls and open at the top to allow the coupon portions of the tickets A to project upward therefrom for ready inspection, insertion and removal of the tickets. These containers which may be similar to card index file holders or drawers, and which are numbered from it to 7, inclusive, are mounted side by side on the rack in regular order from left to right or right to left with their forward ends facing the ticket sellers side of the table or counter E, and are intended to respectively hold groups or stacks of tickets A dated and valid for use on successive days. For facilitating, observing and handling of the tickets it is desirable that the containers or holders C arranged in racks D be maintained in laterally spaced relation and for this purpose the containers are provided with laterally extending spacing projections which in the embodiment represented are in the form of flanges C. The seven holders 1-7, arranged as shown in the drawings, are designed to hold tickets dated to successively cover days for a period of one week, although any number of them may be used to cover any desired longer period. Each container may 2,915,178 v Patented Dec. 1, 1959 ice hold a stack or row of groups of tickets amounting in-all' to 600 or 700 tickets, more or less, to cover all space accommodations of a vehicle or trains departing from a starting terminal or station on a given day. The containers and/or indicators used in connection therewith may bear dates corresponding to the dates of the tickets stored therein. The arrangement is thus such that the containers serve as a movable calendar, so that at the close of any working day the 'firstcontainer positioned adjacent to and parallel with the front side of the table and movable by the rack relative to the sales point SS and from which the tickets dated that day have been sold, may be removed from the rack and the remaining containers on the rack shifted forward to'bring the next succeeding container into selling position. Another container stacked with tickets may be fitted in the rack to i take the place of No. 7 of the series which has been moved forwardly in the described shift of the containers. By this means todays tickets will always be in the same position (the selling point) on the table.

The-groups of tickets A held .in a container C and applying to the cars,of different trains are or may be separated in appropriate order by metal dividers G. Each of these dividers supports a pivoted or bendable sign device H comprising a staff H carrying a sign element or plate h having the time of departure and number of the train covered by the underlying group of tickets. The sign plate h is normally arranged to extend longitudinally of the container a short distance above the group of tickets and the staff H is so constructed and mounted as to adapt the plate h to be lifted to a higher level if desired and to a non-interfering position laterally of the container out of overhanging position relative to the group of tickets to allow the ticket seller to conveniently inspect and remove tickets from and apply tickets to the group in conducting sales transactions. The construction of the container and signal device to adapt it to be supported and operated in the manner described may vary but, as shown in the present instance, the staff H is L-shaped and includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion to which the sign plate h is suitably secured. The normally horizontal part of the staff is pivotable about a vertical axis or bendable, allowing the sign device to be moved from its normal indicating position out of the way of thev hands of the ticket seller when employed to manipulate the tickets. A simple upward sliding movement of the signal device may be all that is necessary at times to allow the ticket seller to inspect and apply or remove a ticket, but, if not, the

ticket seller may move the indicator outward to a more for sale and return the detached stub to the container file, the ticket seller must mave the indicator to a noninterfering position, which can be done with facility by the use of a container of the type described. This construction of signal or sign device further allows quick location and manipulation of a desired group of tickets and minimizes mis-filing.

While the construction of means disclosed is one well adapted for the purpose, it is to be understood that it is merely exemplificative of means for the purpose which may be used, and that any equivalent means, coming within the scope of the appended claims may be em- 3 ployed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A railway or other vehicle space reservation ticket holding apparatus: for use'in dispensing tickets in the selling 'thereof comprising. in combination: an elongated channeled ticket container having: vertically: arranged longitudinally extending side: walls spacedapart at a width to accommodate closely theti'ckets t'o -be dispensed when disposed sidewise in said' COntainer; dividersextend' ing transversely across said" container: inlongitudinally spaced positions forming separate spacesfor individual groups of the. tickets, said dividers; having sign-carrying devices removably mounted in said dividers; said devices carrying signs overhanging theposition of the' 'g-roups ofi tickets to whichthcy correspond, respectively, in super posed relation, said sign-carrying devices-beingmounted in said dividers-for movement 'of tlie' signs out of position above said tickets to provide free access= to' the tickets and back into superposed relation to their respective groups of tickets for-indicating purposes.

3..Apparatus.according to claim 1, and in which said sign-carrying devices are bendable.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said signcarrying devices are pivoted pivotable about a vertical axis.

5. Apparatus accordingto claim 1, and in which said sign-carrying devices are liftable out of the dividers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEIJSTATES PATENTS 320,949 McElroy June 30,- 1889 664,501 Rand Dec. 25, 1900 928,346 Vick July 20, 1909 1,253,033 Henkle Jan. 8, 1918 1,285,394 Robinson Nov. 19, 1918 1,461,926 Malloy July 17, 1923 1,556,131, scoville Oct. 6, 1925 1,581,339 Eox- Apr.. 20, 1926 1,874,950 Eorsyth. Aug. 30, 1932 2,103,651 Thomas -2 Dec. 28, 1937 2,412,219 Hunter Dec. 10,- 1946 2,561,376. Johnson July 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 958,416 France ......of 1949 

